the name change,
by xxChocolateCrunchxx
Summary: When Murtagh meets a slave in Galbatorix' castle with a mystical appearance and offhand attitude, he's intrigued. But will she keep on evading his questions or open up? He knows she's got her own secrets, but he's dying to know what they are.
1. Chapter 1

Murtagh growled under his breath as he stomped back to his room, sore from the beating he'd just recieved from his "mentors". It wasn't his fault! No one had ever taught him to use any sort of magic before, he was rough and untrained at it. _Calm down, Murtagh. You'll learn eventually._ Thorn said calmly, startling Murtagh for a moment. He needed to get used to his own dragon entering his thoughts like that. But he felt so evaded after so long of keeping his thoughts to himself and only himself. He heard the raspy laughter of his dragon in his thoughts and he scowled. Thorn slowly quieted down and sobered, reminding Murtagh, _I'm just as inexperienced as yourself. _They conversed mentally on the subject as they did often, but finally Murtagh was back in his room where Thorn was already located, and surprised him by sitting close and leaning on his rough scales until he found a comfortable spot. It was quiet and calm, both of them left to their own thoughts, when suddenly the door reopened, and both of them were on their guard, Murtagh jumping off of his resting place as his hand flew to Za'roc out of habit. "Oh!" The girl gasped, taking two steps back and nearly spilling Murtagh's lunch on herself. "Try to contain yourself, _sir_!" She scolded angrily, giving Murtagh a dirty glare. Laughing at her impudence, Thorn turned his back on them to find a more comfortable pose, and Murtagh grinned a little himself. "Sorry, then." He apologized, letting go of his sword's handle.

She huffed and set the tray on the table rather sharply, then to Murtagh's amazement began to walk back towards the door. He outstretched his palm and whispered, "Blothr." "Oooph!" Was the reply as she was caught mid-step. He grinned, pleased with himself, but his pleasure was quickly snuffed out from a quick remark from Thorn. _Great job, Murtagh. Now what're you going to do with her, eh?_, to which he made a face. All right, so he hadn't really thought it out that far. "All right, Dragon Rider. You have my attention. What do you want now?" The girl said, turning on her heel and crossing her arms as she faced him. This was his first good look at her, and he drank it all in as fast as he could while trying to think of a witty reply. She was small, only about five foot one in height, average frame, with very long, curly brown hair, unruly and unkempt. Her eyes were the most startling shade of green Murtagh had ever seen in a human, and her face had an impish quality. Overall, besides her entity being smeared with dirt, she was very pretty. She sighed meaningfully, and he was brought back to the real world. "What's your name?" He asked finally. She raised an eyebrow. "..Nairna." She said after a moment of silent observation.

He wasn't sure what to say now, and she cracked a smile at his indecision. "And you're Murtagh. And, that's Thorn?" She inquired. He nodded exstatically, grinning like a fool. Thorn huffed in his corner and smoke rose from where his nose was hidden, indicating that he was already asleep. Nairna giggled, dropping her arms so she could put them behind her back. It was quiet until she whispered sarcastically, "Am I allowed to leave now?", pointing towards the door. Murtagh made a face and waved impatiently towards the door to signify that he was done and couldn't think of anything else to say. She grinned and skipped towards the door, but before she left she stopped at the door and studied him a moment longer. "I'll see you later, I guess." Then she was gone. Murtagh wasn't really sure what to think about that little conversation the two had shared, and he wasn't sure if it had been bad or good. No one had ever made fun of him like that since Thorn hatched, and he hated to sound like a spoiled child, but he had kind of gotten used to it. He scratched the back of his head in confusion and, shrugging, made way for his bed. This matter could wait until he woke up.


	2. Chapter 2

That night, Murtagh tossed and turned on his bed, completely unable to sleep. That girl, Nairna. There was something so totally off about her, but for the life of him he couldn't understand it. She hadn't been afraid of him, she hadn't even been afraid of Thorn.. She was impudent, sardonic. Pretentious, even. He'd spoken to her for maybe five minutes, and already she'd gotten him so worked up he couldn't sleep. It was pathetic, really. Thorn had noticed it, and he teased his rider about it the next morning.

Looks like you had an incredibly nice night.

Thorn stated innocently, avoiding eye contact with the disgruntled young man attempting to pull his boots on over on the other side of the room.

Too bad I wouldn't know however, I was too distracted by a certain someone's tossing and turning and moaning and groaning and grumbling and mumbling all night because some young woman happened to openly defy the new high and mighty dragon rider.

Murtagh sighed, dropping his boot and twisting around so that his upper body was facing the dragon as he glared over his shoulder. "Excuse me if I was a little bit intrigued." Murtagh replied sardonically, raising his eyebrows dangerously high.

Oh, you're excused.

Thorn turned away and laughed to himself as Murtagh made a face and attempted to think of a witty response. When nothing came to him he waved his hand in a dismissing fashion, obviously annoyed. He ran his hand through his dark shaggy hair. He spun around quickly when his door opened, watching as Nairna entered with his breakfast.

"What, no 'oh no I'm under attack by the maid let me just grab my sword and scare the living daylights out of her' today?" She asked dryly, putting her tray on his table and then leaning on it, watching him with one eyebrow raised. He grinned.

"Sorry, I'm a little of out of it today." He apologized halfheartedly.

"Just a little?" She tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong, didn't sleep well, or what?"

Thorn snorted, and Murtagh turned his head to glare at the dragon. "Actually, yes, that's exactly right."

He told her, slowly turning back and hopping off his bed. He didn't realize that she was still staring at him until he was standing in front of her tearing hungrily into his bread. "What?" He asked with his mouth full, following her shocked stare until he realized that he hadn't put on a shirt yet this morning. "Oh. Right. Sorry."

He turned back around to grab his shirt, which was hanging off a chair, and yank it on. "What? Oh! I'm so sorry." She muttered, looking down again, her eyes huge and her cheeks turning an incredibly deep shade of red as he grinned cheekily, still chewing on the bread.

"So anyway, I should be going." Nairna said after about two seconds. "After all, a maid's work is never done." She stepped backwards towards the door, and then stopped. "Wait, am I going to be trapped in here when I try to leave again?" She asked, motioning to the door.

"Funny. You're funny." Murtagh told her, wagging his loaf of bread at her and making her grin. "Well, thank you. I try." She replied, curtsying dramatically.

"Ha, ha. Go on." He told her, and Nairna complied quickly, closing the door gently behind her to leave Murtagh and his breakfast in peace. 


End file.
